The Transparent Global Relations Programme

Funding and Governance

Transparency and good governance are two key principles for any public organisation and certainly for us too. The , with around 75 week-long events annually, 125 experts and 2000 participants involved, means valuable resources are put to work and consequently we are accountable to member countries in general and particularly to donors. They make this Programme possible thanks to longstanding support, regardless of its membership in the OECD. They are, in turn, accountable to their taxpayers, making transparency even more important.

We report regularly on the made available to us by donors like Japan, Turkey, Korea, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Australia Mexico and other countries. We also report on the impact of the programme and the outcomes of the reports provided by the Independent Evaluation Service, (an example of in-kind contribution provided by the Canada Revenue Agency). Thanks to our extensive network of five OECD Multilateral Tax Centres and host countries, such as , we provide participating countries with opportunities to acquire knowledge and gain expertise in order to apply practical solutions to their tax policy and administration issues. If you are interested in making a contribution please contact us.

In terms of governance, the programme is subject to the oversight of the Advisory Group for Co-operation with Non OECD Economies (Advisory Group), which reports to the (CFA). The strategic orientations of the programme are discussed in the Bureau and approved at the maximum level by the CFA itself. The programme is largely demand-driven and we are open to discuss the interests and priorities of our partners at any time and through regular consultation process in the context of the Advisory Group and bilaterally at the time of the yearly planning. Balancing demand with OECD wide and CFA priorities is also important and that is one of the key functions of the Global Relations Expert Group (GREG), a group of Secretariat staff particularly involved in Global Relations work that links demand with Working Parties’ agendas to ensure that the topics are relevant and that the Programme’s impact is maximum.

International Evaluation Service (IES)

The Independent Evaluation Service (IES) administered by the Canada Revenue Agency, provides objective third-party written evaluations of most OECD Global Relations events. Evaluations are based on feedback provided at the conclusion of each event by the participants, technical experts and OECD event leader.

Evaluations report on the effectiveness of each event, including:

Participants’ perceived increase in knowledge;

Event topics they consider the most relevant to their ongoing work;

How they intend to apply what they learned upon returning to their respective duties, and

Which Global Relations events they hope to attend in the future.

Evaluations also identify best practices and potential areas for improvement. In addition to evaluations of individual events, the IES produces an annual report summarizing the results of the year’s Global Relations Programme.

Advisory Group for Co-operation with Non-OECD Economies (Advisory Group)

The OECD provides the governments of 34 member countries with a platform on which to discuss and develop economic, tax and social policies, both domestic and international, that in today’s globalised world should form a web of coherent practice across nations.

The OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA) is a leader in setting standards and guidelines in respect of international taxation matters. The Global Relations Programme, overseen by the CFA’s Board for Co-operation with Non-OECD Economies (BCNOE), is designed to fulfill the wider mandate of encouraging global economic development by securing the active participation of non-OECD countries in the development and implementation of the OECD’s instruments, standards and guidelines; and promoting a climate that encourages mutual assistance between member countries and non-OECD economies.

Reporting directly to the CFA, the BCNOE relies for its global perspective on the work carried out by the Advisory Group for Co-operation with Non-OECD Economies. Specifically, the objectives of the Advisory Group are to:

Review and evaluate the ongoing programme of co-operation with non-OECD Economies, from the perspective of the countries that are involved in, and support, the programme;

Provide a forum for non-OECD economies to directly influence the management, delivery and future direction of the OECD’s partnership activities;

Improve the partnership programme of technical and policy dialogue;

Deepen the interaction between member and non-member countries on tax issues, and in particular provide a forum for consultation on OECD instruments, standards and guidelines under review or in the process of development;

Broaden the interaction between member and non-member countries in the context of the wider debate on the role of taxation for development.

What you have been saying about us

Below are articles on the impact of the Global Relations Programme, provided by some of our key partners: